Episode 32

Noah’s bullet struck true, piercing the zombie’s skull. The creature crumpled to the ground, unable to even let out a scream as its brain matter spilled out. Without hesitation, Noah took aim at the next one. Another single shot, another clean kill.

As the zombies fell one by one under Noah’s precise shooting, a low whistle sounded nearby.

Turning his head, Noah spotted Dennis.

‘What’s he doing here?’

Dennis, seemingly unaware of Noah’s surprise, was staring at the corpses with a quiet look of admiration. Truthfully, when he had first heard about Noah’s shooting skills from Calyps, he had been skeptical. But when he found out that Noah would be stationed on the wall, Dennis had decided to see for himself. What he witnessed shocked him.

Hitting a moving target directly in the upper head with just one shot was no easy feat. Even seasoned veterans struggled with it. Yet, here was this pampered young master, pulling it off effortlessly.

“Just like they said… You’re impressive.”

Dennis’s sudden comment made Noah instinctively glance around, hoping to find Jason or Calyps—someone who could pull this nuisance away. But there was no such luck. As the fleeting thought of “What a hassle” crossed his mind, his fine brows furrowed involuntarily.

Dennis, who had been watching Noah with admiration, seemed to pick up on the subtle irritation. He quickly averted his gaze, and an awkward silence stretched between them. Scratching his cheek, Dennis hesitated before speaking again.

“…I heard you saved the captain. T-Thanks.”

“…What?”

Noah, genuinely caught off guard, turned to Dennis with wide eyes. The man’s face was so red that even his earlobes were burning.

Dennis was blushing.

Not believing what he was seeing, Noah’s eyes grew even wider. Feeling Noah’s gaze, Dennis quickly bowed his head and ruffled his bangs in a rough motion, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“T-Thank you! And… sorry for giving you a hard time before.”

Though awkward, his words were clear. Noah, watching the sudden change in attitude, nearly dropped his jaw in disbelief.

‘Wait, what did I just hear?’

In the original novel, Dennis had always despised Sienna, the noble heroine. He had never truly warmed up to her—not even at the moment of his death. At first, his hostility towards nobility had made him a fan-favorite for bringing well-deserved humiliation to the aristocrats, but later on, his unwavering disdain became exhausting, even to the readers. Noah himself had found Dennis’s attitude increasingly irritating as the story progressed.

Noah knew exactly what kind of character Dennis was supposed to be.

After Sienna’s death, Dennis had simply transferred that same scorn onto Noah. That was why Noah never reacted much to Dennis’s provocations—he treated them like background noise.

‘It’s no different from talking to a brick wall.’

Why bother getting worked up over someone who was doomed to die anyway?

In fact, Noah had drawn the same emotional boundary with everyone except Calyps. He had never expected anyone else to survive long-term, so he kept his distance. He knew people mistook his attitude for a noble’s pride, but he didn’t care to correct them.

‘So why the sudden change?’

Dennis’s unexpected shift unsettled him. A character trait that had seemed immovable was suddenly changing. And with changes came unpredictability.

Though anxious about what kind of butterfly effect this could create, Noah couldn’t deny that a small part of him also felt something else—possibility.

As he struggled to respond, his gaze fell on his right arm—or what was left of it.

The greatest proof of this world’s cruel, unchangeable fate was his missing right arm.

Noticing Noah’s hardened expression, Dennis pressed his lips together and fell silent. Just as another awkward silence threatened to settle between them, a voice broke through the tension.

“Whoa, I heard about it, but you really are amazing!”

“Holy shit, that’s insane!”

Like Dennis, the other guards had been watching Noah’s sharpshooting with skepticism. But now, they were stepping forward, eager to voice their admiration.

As Noah found himself surrounded by sudden praise, the unease in his chest finally eased a little. Letting out a small breath, he allowed the tension to leave his body.

— But Eve never showed up that day.

The next day, she still didn’t appear.

And the day after that, she was nowhere to be found.

On the third day of standing watch, a gnawing unease finally overtook him.

Noah reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook.

He had promised himself he would throw it away. But in the end, he never could.

The frustration of realizing that this useless notebook was the only thing he could rely on hit him hard. But he swallowed down the emotion and flipped through the pages.

The further he read, the more inconsistent the dates became. The notes were full of vague, imprecise records.

There was nothing useful here.

Noah ran a frustrated hand through his hair and let out a deep, weary sigh.

“…Haah.”

For a fleeting moment, Noah found himself laughing at the absurdity of his struggle against the world’s forced narrative. It all felt pointless.

‘If I had just died back then, following the original storyline… would I have returned to my world?’

The thought sent a violent shudder through his body.

Even the mere idea of death made his skin crawl. Nothing was certain about dying, and that made it terrifying. Even in his imagination, his damned survival instincts refused to let him surrender.

Shaking his head roughly, Noah forced himself to suppress the turmoil surging within him.

As he remained laser-focused on searching for Eve, Dominic slowly and steadily isolated him from the others. By the time Noah realized what was happening, it was already too late.

‘Damn this forced narrative.’

Already on edge due to Eve’s unpredictable appearance, Noah found himself growing increasingly stressed by Dominic’s constant intrusive behavior. The accumulated pressure sharpened his nerves to the point where he could barely function. The nightmares only got worse.

“…Damn it.”

Waking up in a cold sweat, Noah ran a hand through his damp hair and glanced at the clock on the wall. His shift was still hours away, but going back to sleep would only mean more nightmares.

Without hesitation, he got dressed and prepared to head to the wall.

“You’re early again today.”

A familiar voice greeted him as Jun stood up from his post. However, Noah barely acknowledged him, simply taking his position and gazing down the wall.

By now, the other soldiers had grown used to Noah’s withdrawn behavior. They simply let him be.

Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it was his shaken emotions—but for some reason, his shots were off today.

“…Haah.”

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Noah raked a hand through his hair.

Noticing this, Jun cautiously approached.

“Noah, are you feeling alright?”

The soldiers around him had all noticed how overworked he had been lately, and their gazes carried concern.

“Ah.”

“Your shift isn’t for a while. Why don’t you rest a bit before—”

“I’m fine.”

Cutting him off firmly, Noah dismissed their concerns and refocused on the landscape below.

‘Another wasted day.’

Watching the sun dip below the horizon, Noah finally set his rifle down, his thoughts spiraling out of control.

But just as he was about to shake them off and stand—

Something caught his eye.

His body froze.

He immediately grabbed the binoculars, gripping them tightly.

‘…Eve!’

Though she was covered in soot and grime, patches of her white hair and distinct pale eyes peeked through. It was undoubtedly her.

Her vacant expression, the way she walked alongside zombies without being attacked—she looked like one of them.

If Noah hadn’t watched the drama… If he hadn’t seen that one flashback scene… He, too, would’ve mistaken her for a zombie.

His breath hitched when he noticed Eve holding hands with an infected.

‘…She’s holding hands with a zombie?’

Noah held his breath, watching as Eve slowly made her way toward the fortress wall.

In the original story, her only appearance was in Calyp’s memories—getting shot and killed.

There was no mention of her condition, no confirmation of whether she was truly human or something else entirely.

Online, theories had exploded over Eve’s identity. Some believed she was immune because she was Adam’s sister. Others speculated that she had a different kind of antibody, unlike Sienna. But even by the end of Season 3, her true nature remained a mystery.

‘Whatever she is… I need to save her first.’

But there was a problem.

The zombie holding her hand.

Judging by the way she clung to it, that infected person had once been important to her.

Her mother, maybe?

Regardless of who it was, the zombie was an obstacle. Noah’s brow furrowed.

Eve was steadily approaching.

The guards had their weapons trained on the nearby zombies, but they weren’t paying attention to the ones further away.

If she got any closer, they would shoot.

Noah had to act before that happened.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied his hands.

This shot had to be perfect.

Like when he saved Calyps from the mutant zombie.

Tightening his grip, he exhaled slowly.

His heartbeat steadied.

His hands stopped trembling.

He aimed for the zombie’s forehead—and fired.

The bullet drilled through its skull, sending the body crashing to the ground.

Instantly, the other zombies turned toward Eve.

Noah’s grip on his rifle tightened.

But—they ignored her.

Instead, they charged straight toward the fortress.

Watching it unfold, Noah felt a thrilling rush.

‘She really is different.’

Now came the bigger problem—how the hell was he supposed to get her inside?

* * *

Noah frowned, scanning for an opening.

First issue—he had no excuse to leave the walls.

Eve’s appearance was too similar to a zombie’s. Even if he brought her back, they might shoot her on sight.

His thoughts were cut short when Eve suddenly collapsed.

His body jolted upright in alarm—

But then, she pushed herself back up.

Noah let out a deep sigh of relief—

“Hey, finish it off. It’s still moving.”

A voice nearby made his blood run cold.

“Shit, then you shoot it.”

Noah’s expression darkened.

The guards had noticed her.

Without a second thought—he threw himself in front of their rifles.